8 ms·

Oh come on now, Valedictorian, you can find plenty of important life skills to be learned in school if you only look hard enough: kindergarden - learn how

by edw519 16y ago

Oh come on now, Valedictorian, you can find plenty of important life skills to be learned in school if you only look hard enough: kindergarden - learn how to play nicely together first grade - learn how to read and write second grade - learn how to add, subtract, multiply, & divide third grade - learn how to spell fourth grade - learn how to play a musical instrument fifth grade - learn how to appreciate great literature sixth grade - learn how we got where we are seventh grade - learn a foreign language eighth grade - learn how to type and use a computer ninth grade - learn how the world is put together tenth grade - learn about other people in the world eleventh grade - learn how to balance a job and school twelveth grade - learn how to plan for and dream about the future freshman year - learn how many other kinds of people are out there sophomore year - learn how to chug a beer, fill a bong, and get laid junior year - learn how to stand upon the shoulders of giants senior year - learn how to find your place in the world graduate school - learn how to play nicely together, all over again

Twisol 16y ago
Computers are all the way up at eighth grade? Egads.
- bpyne 16y ago
  I started in 5th grade in the late 70's. We learned binary arithmetic and punched cards to program the school system's only computer. Learning computers varies in the US. As I understand it, high schools today in the US teach basic computer skills like using a word processor, spreadsheet, browser, etc. to the general populace and may have more advanced classes for people identified as having more ability.
- peterwwillis 16y ago
  Not everyone has the benefit of schools with computers. Getting kids in many districts to comprehend basic math or science first would be nice.
tel 16y ago
Man, sophomore is a doozy. Are you sure kids can handle all that at once?
barredo 16y ago
If someone starts learning a foreign language at 7th grade something is wrong I think. Question: Is this the general case for US Education?
- Khroma 16y ago
  Depends on the school. One that I went to in AZ had a Spanish class in 7th grade, which many people took, whereas another on in IN did not have foreign language classes. High schools usually do.
- ComputerGuru 16y ago
  I went to a public elementary school in Sacramento, CA, and in 2nd grade we began basic spanish.
- adbge 16y ago
  US education in regards to foreign language varies widely. I was not presented with the opportunity to take a foreign language until 9th grade (~14 years old), while the district I currently live in offers Spanish education to children age 7. Edit: This is in Illinois. According to Wikipedia, we have the 7th largest Spanish speaking population in comparison with other states. In my experience, Spanish is the most widely offered secondary language, followed by French. More uncommonly taught languages include Italian and German, and rarer still are Eastern languages such as Japanese. Latin may still be offered in select places, but has been largely phased out. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_in_the_United_States#Current_status http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_in_the_United_States#Cu...
  - enobrev 16y ago
    Just adding that I also wasn't exposed to foreign languages in school until the 9th grade. This was in a private school in Chicago, Illinois.
- tiffani 16y ago
  Meant to upvote this. Started learning German in 2nd grade, but that's only because my dad was in the US Army and we were stationed in Germany at the time. Learning a language at that age (and younger) should always be an option for kids as their minds are like sponges at that point. That early exposure always kept me interested in foreign cultures and their languages, too: Japanese, French, and of course, German. EDIT: Use of simile vs. metaphor for describing the kid brain when it comes to foreign languages. Semantics...
rglullis 16y ago
And where do they learn the "why" of all this? They don't. That's the problem with the school system. Likewise, you seem to be so focused on skills that you can't even question anymore why those skills are necessary, or even worthwhile.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
JabavuAdams 16y ago
Er, if you can't read before you get to kindergarten your parents are fucking up. Either that or they're recognizing and embracing the uniqueness of your passion to not read.
- eru 16y ago
  Are you talking about the kind of Kindergarten that starts at the age of 3? (In Germany it would probably not be a good idea to teach your kids how to read before they go to enter school (at age 6 or 7). Schooling is mandatory in Germany, and elementary school is boring enough if you don't already know the stuff they are trying to teach you. If you have more choice for your kids, then reading earlier may or may not be a good idea.)
  - pmjordan 16y ago
    I don't see why it would be a bad idea, many kids seem to fail to learn to read well if the task of teaching it is left to the school. FWIW, I could read when I started school (at 6, in Austria [1]), as well as do simple maths; I was bored pretty much throughout my education, but at least I did well. Bored & lagging behind surely must be worse. [1] homeschooling is permitted here but it's extremely rare as far as I know.
    - eru 16y ago
      Yes, the best solution is getting better (un-)schooling, instead of having to work around and against the education system.
- s-phi-nl 16y ago
  I could not read before kindergarten and, given that they later home-schooled me, I would not say my parents were "fucking up".
  - JabavuAdams 16y ago
    You need to read that post using my over-the-top ranting voice. No offence to your parents.
malkia 16y ago
Our kid is now 2 and a half, and I'm puzzled - there is Regio Emilia, then Waldorf, Montessori - geeezus! I'm not sure where is going to be best for him. I mean his just a small child :) - Just playing should be enough for him...
PhilipM 16y ago
I read all the boring comments and this is the only one I liked. Learning is hard, caring about stuff that has no relevance to food or sex is hard. School is not about helping the rug rats but getting them out of the adults hair until they can kill their own horse for supper. Edumacation is about following rules. Follow pointless rules in a chain for 200 hours straight and maybe you'll discover something that actually helps the human race. Otherwise its all masturbation. If the kid is stupid, I want the kid beaten into submition. If the kid is smart, he can do the assignments trivially and get an A. I see no need to change the way babysitting kids works. Creativity is not the same as rule following skills. If she really wanted to educate herself she would have realized that she should have been skipping class, reading more sci fi and masturbating harder. She was probably just unhappy from being russian.
- SoftwareMaven 16y ago
  I disagree on the current purpose of school (which really came to be in the late 19th century). School is there to train people to 1) tolerate being bored eight hours a day and 2) do what the authority figures say. These two items were critical for training a workforce who would sit in a factory screwing the lid onto the tube of toothpaste. Unfortunately, today's jobs are all about creativity. Knowledge workers increase value through their creativity, which is all but stamped out of them in school.
  - timthorn 16y ago
    At that time, the majority of the workforce was involved in agriculture. Toothpaste was nowhere in it...
    - SoftwareMaven 16y ago
      At the time, the industrial revolution was rapidly pulling people from the agrarian life to the factory life. Factory owners knew they'd need more and more people who could sit around, day after day, expressing no individuality. Politicians recognized the economic benefits the factories were providing. Together, the current US school system was born. Here are the real questions: Current industry leaders recognize the education system is not training knowledge workers they way it could be. Do politicians recognize the economic value of the knowledge economy and will current politicians and business leaders come together to build a new education system that meets those needs? Of course, 125 years ago, there wasn't an existing bureaucracy that needed to be torn down first... The first country to get that right is going to thrive. A country like Costa Rica could do amazing things.

by edw519 16y ago

Twisol 16y ago

Computers are all the way up at eighth grade? Egads.

bpyne 16y ago
I started in 5th grade in the late 70's. We learned binary arithmetic and punched cards to program the school system's only computer. Learning computers varies in the US. As I understand it, high schools today in the US teach basic computer skills like using a word processor, spreadsheet, browser, etc. to the general populace and may have more advanced classes for people identified as having more ability.
peterwwillis 16y ago
Not everyone has the benefit of schools with computers. Getting kids in many districts to comprehend basic math or science first would be nice.

tel 16y ago

Man, sophomore is a doozy. Are you sure kids can handle all that at once?

barredo 16y ago

If someone starts learning a foreign language at 7th grade something is wrong I think. Question: Is this the general case for US Education?

Khroma 16y ago
Depends on the school. One that I went to in AZ had a Spanish class in 7th grade, which many people took, whereas another on in IN did not have foreign language classes. High schools usually do.
ComputerGuru 16y ago
I went to a public elementary school in Sacramento, CA, and in 2nd grade we began basic spanish.
adbge 16y ago
US education in regards to foreign language varies widely. I was not presented with the opportunity to take a foreign language until 9th grade (~14 years old), while the district I currently live in offers Spanish education to children age 7. Edit: This is in Illinois. According to Wikipedia, we have the 7th largest Spanish speaking population in comparison with other states. In my experience, Spanish is the most widely offered secondary language, followed by French. More uncommonly taught languages include Italian and German, and rarer still are Eastern languages such as Japanese. Latin may still be offered in select places, but has been largely phased out. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_in_the_United_States#Current_status http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_in_the_United_States#Cu...
- enobrev 16y ago
  Just adding that I also wasn't exposed to foreign languages in school until the 9th grade. This was in a private school in Chicago, Illinois.
tiffani 16y ago
Meant to upvote this. Started learning German in 2nd grade, but that's only because my dad was in the US Army and we were stationed in Germany at the time. Learning a language at that age (and younger) should always be an option for kids as their minds are like sponges at that point. That early exposure always kept me interested in foreign cultures and their languages, too: Japanese, French, and of course, German. EDIT: Use of simile vs. metaphor for describing the kid brain when it comes to foreign languages. Semantics...

rglullis 16y ago

And where do they learn the "why" of all this? They don't. That's the problem with the school system. Likewise, you seem to be so focused on skills that you can't even question anymore why those skills are necessary, or even worthwhile.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

JabavuAdams 16y ago

Er, if you can't read before you get to kindergarten your parents are fucking up. Either that or they're recognizing and embracing the uniqueness of your passion to not read.

eru 16y ago
Are you talking about the kind of Kindergarten that starts at the age of 3? (In Germany it would probably not be a good idea to teach your kids how to read before they go to enter school (at age 6 or 7). Schooling is mandatory in Germany, and elementary school is boring enough if you don't already know the stuff they are trying to teach you. If you have more choice for your kids, then reading earlier may or may not be a good idea.)
- pmjordan 16y ago
  I don't see why it would be a bad idea, many kids seem to fail to learn to read well if the task of teaching it is left to the school. FWIW, I could read when I started school (at 6, in Austria [1]), as well as do simple maths; I was bored pretty much throughout my education, but at least I did well. Bored & lagging behind surely must be worse. [1] homeschooling is permitted here but it's extremely rare as far as I know.
  - eru 16y ago
    Yes, the best solution is getting better (un-)schooling, instead of having to work around and against the education system.
s-phi-nl 16y ago
I could not read before kindergarten and, given that they later home-schooled me, I would not say my parents were "fucking up".
- JabavuAdams 16y ago
  You need to read that post using my over-the-top ranting voice. No offence to your parents.

malkia 16y ago

Our kid is now 2 and a half, and I'm puzzled - there is Regio Emilia, then Waldorf, Montessori - geeezus! I'm not sure where is going to be best for him. I mean his just a small child :) - Just playing should be enough for him...

PhilipM 16y ago

I read all the boring comments and this is the only one I liked. Learning is hard, caring about stuff that has no relevance to food or sex is hard. School is not about helping the rug rats but getting them out of the adults hair until they can kill their own horse for supper. Edumacation is about following rules. Follow pointless rules in a chain for 200 hours straight and maybe you'll discover something that actually helps the human race. Otherwise its all masturbation. If the kid is stupid, I want the kid beaten into submition. If the kid is smart, he can do the assignments trivially and get an A. I see no need to change the way babysitting kids works. Creativity is not the same as rule following skills. If she really wanted to educate herself she would have realized that she should have been skipping class, reading more sci fi and masturbating harder. She was probably just unhappy from being russian.

SoftwareMaven 16y ago
I disagree on the current purpose of school (which really came to be in the late 19th century). School is there to train people to 1) tolerate being bored eight hours a day and 2) do what the authority figures say. These two items were critical for training a workforce who would sit in a factory screwing the lid onto the tube of toothpaste. Unfortunately, today's jobs are all about creativity. Knowledge workers increase value through their creativity, which is all but stamped out of them in school.
- timthorn 16y ago
  At that time, the majority of the workforce was involved in agriculture. Toothpaste was nowhere in it...
  - SoftwareMaven 16y ago
    At the time, the industrial revolution was rapidly pulling people from the agrarian life to the factory life. Factory owners knew they'd need more and more people who could sit around, day after day, expressing no individuality. Politicians recognized the economic benefits the factories were providing. Together, the current US school system was born. Here are the real questions: Current industry leaders recognize the education system is not training knowledge workers they way it could be. Do politicians recognize the economic value of the knowledge economy and will current politicians and business leaders come together to build a new education system that meets those needs? Of course, 125 years ago, there wasn't an existing bureaucracy that needed to be torn down first... The first country to get that right is going to thrive. A country like Costa Rica could do amazing things.